Many people have sacrificed their lives for the freedom of this nation but the true liberty is yet to be realised, said Shri Mohan Bhagwat, RSS, General Secretary, at Janata Maidan, in Bhubaneswar. He was speaking as part of the Shri Guruji Birth centenary organised by Shri Guruji Janma Satabdi Samaroha Samiti, Orissa. ?We have got freedom in the physical sense but we have not tasted the real pleasure of freedom in the sphere of mind and human rights. This is the only reason that we hesitate to recite the national song Vande Mataram and to give the Gomata (cow) due respect, he said speaking of liberty in true sense.
He focused his speech on the contribution of Shri Guruji to India. He tried to bring reform in the society by eradicating untouchability and discrimination, he said.
Shri Mohan Bhagwat said unity in the society is not possible without social harmony and the country cannot make progress without unity. He said we ought to have the feeling of brotherhood with the people who may appear different from us. This is called harmony or humanity. He said the British made us slaves. This should not happen again and we should unite the whole society. ?The Sangh work is going on with this task. Dr Hedgewar realised its need and started the Sangh in 1925,? he added.
?Though it is 60 years since our Independence, the real Independence is yet to be achieved. We have neither got economic independence nor social uplift. The nation is passing through a grave situation. Terrorism and lack of awakening among the fellow countrymen is the biggest danger before us. We are in such a position that we hesitate to sing Vande Mataram and honour cow as our mother. These are nothing but symbols of the ugly divisions in our society, and are vital causes responsible for our underdevelopment. Our real freedom can only be achieved through the creation of Akhand Bharat and Sampoorna Samaj? said Shri Mohan Bhagwat.
Addressing a mammoth gathering of swayamsevaks in the heart of the state capital, he described Shri Guruji as the ?Rajya Rishi? who pioneered in the field of national awakening, establishment of social harmony and unity among Hindus. He said ?Guruji could bring unity among all the religious sects of the nation. He had no hatred for anyone, Hindu or not. It'sbest example is the foundation of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Shri Guruji as one of the founders of VHP, united all the Dharma Gurus of the country. He had great confidence over the youth power of this nation.?
Criticising the men in power, Shri Mohanji said ?Maladministration and failure of administration is the source of all the problems. Lack of nationalism is making this all the more serious. People are living in fear and insecurity as the anti-national extremist activities are on the rise constantly in the country. Social and economic discrimination is another evil force, standing on the path of our development, as the greatest hurdle. Our national resources are being drained to foreign countries and we are being exploited by the MNCs. Freedom, the real freedom can only be achieved when fear and discrimination are completely banished.
Predicting the future of India, he expressed utmost optimism, that India will be a Super Power by 2011 AD. Religious spiritualism has been rising among the Hindus which is good sign of India'sdevelopment and golden future, he added.
As part of this impressive ceremony, 5000 swayamsevaks clad in Ganavesh performed Path Sanchalan playing Ghosh Vadya from five places of the city and assembled at Janata Maidan, where the concluding ceremony was held. The Patha Sanchalan stared at 2.30 pm and concluded at 4.30 pm. The whole city reverberated with the tune of the Ghosh, by swayamsevaks. Shri Mohanji released the Oriya version of Shri Guruji Samagra.? Swami Laxmanananda gave his blessing at the end. Prant Sanghachalak Shri Ashok Das, Pracharak Shri Ajit Mohapatra, Shri Gopal Prashad Mohapatra, Shri Gagadish Khandanga, Shri Shyam Gupta were present among other dignitaries.
In Andhra Pradesh, the state unit of Shri Guruji Birth Centenary Celebration Committee organised a Samarasata Sammelan in Palamoor district on January 7. Besides 11,231 uniformed swayamsevaks from 340 villages, over 2000 villagers participated in the sammelan. Ten path sanchalans started from different places reached the venue of the sammelan after passing through 14 bastis. Shri Mallepalli Laxmaiah, convenor of the Centre for Dalit Studies, presided over the function.
He said the feeling of untouchability has no place in the Sangh and we have shown practically that it can be removed from the society. ?If any survey is conducted today the maximum people who have conducted inter-caste marriage will be found in the Sangh,? he added.
Talking about the service projects being run by Sangh swayamsevaks across the country, he said these projects are not being run only for sake of service. This is an effort to bring people together. Swayamsevaks are running schools in Andhra Pradesh, which show 100 per cent results every year and they have received awards for it. He said social harmony is not possible until the feeling of discrimination is removed from the society. Efforts should be made to remove such feelings. He gave three formulas to bring harmony in the society. First, we should begin from our own family. Second, we should bring all the castes with us and open our kitchen for them and also reach up to their kitchen. Third, the saints of the society do not belong to any particular section. They are ours and we all should take inspiration from them. ?Our all activities should aim at bringing harmony in the society. It is good that with the initiative of the Sangh all religious leaders are talking about social harmony today. The Sangh swayamsevaks should ensure that with our activities this district should become an ideal district in the whole country,? he added.
Shri Mallepalli Laxmaiah asked if all Hindus are one why atrocities are being committed against lower sections of the society. He said so many organisations worked for bringing harmony in the country but the situation has not improved much. I appeal to Shri Mohan Bhagwat to take all Dalits with the Sangh and try to solve the problem before it become more complicated. Without the welfare of dalits the country cannot make progress,? he said further adding that every scheme should be people-centred. Only then the gap between Dalits and rest of the society will be filled.
